Now's the Time: Megan Birdsall and Diverse

Change, as the saying goes, is the only constant. Two acts that might otherwise have played at the still-shuttered Jardine's this weekend have gigs at relatively new venues on the Kansas City-area jazz scene. Megan Birdsall performs Friday, January 27, at Take Five Coffee + Bar. Her band includes bassist Ben Leifer, keyboardist Paul Smith and drummer Brian Steever. Hermon Mehari and Diverse perform "a selection of originals and covers inspired by music from Africa" on Saturday, January 28, at Kansas City Academy.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*The January 24 edition of KCUR's weekly KC Currents program features a segment titled "Where To Next For KC Jazz?". (Full disclosure: the halting, stilted voice is mine.)

*KCJazzLark challenges the premise of a January 15 Plastic Sax post. While he makes several well-reasoned points, I still think the music would be best served by a gradual shift away from increasingly irrelevant terminology.

*The KC Sound Collective are the subject of a nice introductory video.

*KCUR's Jabulani Leffal spoke to Mark Lowrey and Hermon Mehari about Kansas City's jazz scene. The conversation streams here.

*Hearne Christopher checks in with Jardine's Beena. He also provides another update on the ongoing ownership saga. And Christopher assesses the health of Kansas City's jazz scene.

*The apparent absence of progress at Jardine's is noted by Tony's Kansas City.

*Here's a review of last weekend's three-day Jazz Winterlude festival. Libby Hanssen reviewed the performance by Poncho Sanchez and his Latin Band.

*Footage of an excellent band led by Brandon Draper is featured in a video showcasing the new venue at the Kansas City Academy. (Via Tony's Kansas City.)

*Steve Kraske interviewed Chris Brubeck.

*Bobby Watson will be featured in a concert during the 2012-13 season of the Kansas City Symphony.

*Hermon Mehari is interviewed here.

*Will Combs of the American Jazz Museum talks about his job.

*A soprano sax mouthpiece once owned by the late Alaadeen is for sale at eBay.

*West Coast drummer Bill Goodwin will be part of David Basse's band on February 3 at BB's Lawnside BBQ.

*Black House Improvisors' Collective is soliciting a new round of participants. And Hunter Long throws down a challenge.

*Here's the new 45 from Hearts of Darkness.

*The second annual Bob James Jazz Festival will take place in Marshall, Missouri, on May 19.

*Jon Poses reports on the recent JEN convention.

*Anyone remember Dry Jack? Here's a '70s-tastic slide show.

*Two notable Kansas City musicians contribute to the mayhem in an appearance at an Apple Retail Store.

*Tweet o' the Week: KCJazzConnxn- I never get sick of bragging about KC jazz. So many good players from here or cleaning up abroad! Despite club downfall, music keeps coming.

*The Plastic Sax comment of the week: Be-Bop- What's the matter? Swing too much? Not enough multimedia for you? Don't play sloppy and work with little tin drums? Don't have a dancer or little hats to wear? You're slippin' Bill. Been reading too much Nick Payton's crap. Hate to tell you, most of the shit being played in this poor town has got boring written all over it. Watched and listened to some of your "J" word picks of the year... let's talk boring. Garage band bullshit. My opinion, that's all. As for Anonymous asking if it was PBT? Let's chalk that comment up to musical ignorance. Instead of asking for a "Disney on Ice" experience of self gratifying "jazz" that you find playing at your weekly gigs in KC to keep you visually entertained, how about remembering the music comes first. I admire the cats in this town that DO remember that. Oh, and I've seen you close your eyes at gigs and concentrate on the music.

*From the American Jazz Museum: Benny Golson Quartet- 2 Shows: 8:00 & 9:30. $25 One Show- $40 Both Shows. (Student Pricing - $20 One Show. $30 Both Shows). Buster Williams- Bass, Carl Allen- Drums, Mike LeDonne- Piano. (Saturday, February 25.)

*From Jim Mair: Information about the 11th Annual Kansas City Jazz Camp is here.

*From Mike Ning: Michael Feinstein performed a concert with the Kansas City Symphony on February 11th, 2011. He came with a film crew for a documentary for PBS. Among the numerous stops, he paid the Mutual Musicians Foundation at 18th and Vine a visit during its early morning Jazz Jam (Saturday morning on the 12th of February from 1-5 am, to be specific). The place was jam packed with fans from the concert and regular patrons. Michael was urged to sit in with the house band: Denyse Walcott - Host / Vocalist, Mike Ning - Pianist, Joe Straws - Bass, Victor Perelmuter - drums. He did a few numbers and brought the house down. Proceedings were taped for the documentary to be aired on Friday, February 3rd, on PBS, Channel 19, Kansas City.

(Original image of the Matt Otto Quintet with Shay Estes performing January 201 by Plastic Sax.)

Sorta Kinda

Bad jazz isn't difficult to find. It's often perpetrated by technically proficient musicians. I took in a loathsome gig a week or two ago. The band's song selection was impeccable. Almost every note was perfectly played. And I was bored to tears. I felt as if I was watching an academic instructional video. The musicians' intentions were good but the result was laughably bland. I'd rather listen to a tone-deaf teen sing along to Taylor Swift than hear antiseptic jazz. At least the fan of the pop star would invest some emotion into her effort.

("Sorta Kinda" image by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: Poncho Sanchez

The Jazz Winterlude festival at Johnson County Community College is underway. Joe Klopus' preview focuses on the Brubeck Brothers. The sons of Dave serve as Friday's headlining act. Poncho Sanchez tops the bill on Saturday. Dozens of the Kansas City area's premier jazz musicians are also featured.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*This weekend's Jazz Winterlude festival is touted by KCJazzLark.

*Here's the skinny on the new performing arts space at 7933 Main.

*Mary Sanchez encourages community support of the Mutual Musicians Foundation.

*Tony's Kansas City notes that Jardine's remains dark. (I've noticed that the venue's name has been removed from the awning above the front door.)

*Jazz Video Guy gives Bobby Watson and his UMKC program a shout-out at the 2:55 mark in his wrap-up of the JEN convention. (Tip via Dominique Sanders.)

*Here's a video "teaser" from the forthcoming Project H album.

*A version of a new song from Diverse streams here.

*Mouth posted 32 minutes of live footage. Hermon Mehari makes an appearance at the 3:00-minute mark.

*Kevin Mahogany serves as the headliner of the Great Bend Jazz Festival.

*Tweet o' the Week: HitShohin- アマゾンヒット商品 MP3 アルバム 2位 The Frank Wess Quartet |形式:MP3ダウンロード

*From Mark Lowrey: Tuesday, January 31st, 2012. Price: $3. Mark kicks off a new series at downtown Kansas City's Czar Bar. Each Tuesday, Mark hosts a rotating lineup of some of Kansas City's finest jazz, improv, electronic, and classical musicians for a special, unpredictable night of music and fun.

*From Mille Nottingham: January 20th, Tribute to Myra Taylor and Pearl Thuston Brown, Wild Women the Blue Room, 8:30-12:30 (Via Connie Humiston.)

*From Knuckleheads' site: Sun 2/19. Today's jam will be a In harmony jam mixing Blues and Jazz jams on 2 stages and A Celebration of Life (would have been Myra's 95th birthday) as on 12/9/12 we lost our Kansas City Legend… 2pm til 7pm No Cover Charge.

*From Hearts of Darkness: Hearts of Darkness and The Good Foot announce the release of their first collaborative project, a split single 7” record titled “Numeration / Bad Way”. 7" vinyl records with digital download cards will release to the public and be available for sale on Saturday, February 18 at the Carnivàle du Soul show at The Uptown Theater...

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Kansas City Hustle

I wrote a piece for The Kansas City Star that examines Nicholas Payton's Black American Music proposal. The challenging subject makes a lot of people uncomfortable. And while the argument isn't new, it's more relevant than ever. Allow me to set aside the political and sociological aspects of Payton's concept in order to demonstrate one reason this topic matters.

Approximately 400 people attended Nnenna Freelon's excellent concert Saturday at The Folly Theater. (Here's my review.) With this issue in mind, I made an informal tally. Including the four musicians on stage, less than fifty people of color took in the concert. Where was everybody? Don't blame ticket prices- student rush tickets were $10 and cheap seats were $18.

To a large extent, the barrier was antipathy to the j-word. The jazz label may have drawn three-quarters of the existing audience, but it repelled even more potential ticket-buyers. Only people immersed solely in hip hop, indie rock, heavy metal or country music wouldn't have enjoyed the show. Music lovers of all stripes who appreciate Stevie Wonder, Amy Winehouse, Luther Vandross, Frank Sinatra or Mary J. Blige would have loved Freelon's performance.

Had the concert been marketed as an evening of Black American Music rather than as an installment of the "Folly Jazz Presents" series, all 1,078 seats might have been sold to satisfied customers. The change in labels wouldn't help everyone. Free jazz, for instance, is always going to have limited appeal. But the new categorization would almost certainly exponentially expand Nnenna Freelon's audience.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: Otra Cosa

I don't care that it's not jazz. The ardent music and enchanting visuals in the embedded clip transcend genres. Beau Bledsoe's Otra Cosa perform Friday, January 13, at R Bar.